Improvement in wheel-quartering machines



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM SELLERS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN WHEEL-QUARTERING MACHINES?.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,482, dated June 3, 1573; application filed December 11, 1872. u

To all 'whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WiLLIAM SELLERS, of

.the city and county ot' Philadelphia, in the State ot Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in VVheel-Quartering` Machinery, of which the followin g is a specification `My invention relates yto 'machinery of that class specially adapted for boring crank-pin holes in the driving-wheels of' locomotives. It is customary, in order to insure the accurate relative disposition of the two crank-pins of a pair ot' driving-wheels mounted on a cornmon axle, to bore these holes after the wheels have been permanently secured upon the axle with their crank-arms arranged at an angle approximating the true one. It is not only of great importance that the cranks should be of equal lengths, but it is essential that one of the crank-pins shall be ninety degrees in advance of its fellow relatively to `their plane ot" rotation, to secure uniformity in the working of the engine when running either forward or backward. The function of the mechanism which xes this angular relation of the two crankpins, is technically called quartering, and the mechanism itself is technically called a wheelquartering machine.- A quartering-machine to meet the practical requirements of locomotive builders must not only be so organized as to bore holes suited to any required length of crank, but also must be capable of adaptation to the altered relation ot' the crank-pins necessary in changing from the ordinary con struction in which the right-hand crank leads, to the more exceptional, but still not infrequent one, in which the left-hand crank leads. It is the object of my invention to provide a machine possessing the desideratums above-mentioned. lhesubject-matter claimed is hereinafter particularly specitied. The accompanying drawings represent all my improvements as embodied in a machine of the construction best adapted to meet the requirements ot' locomotive builders; some ot these improvements, however, may be used without the others, and in a machine varying somewhat in the details of its construction from that herein shown obvious equivalent modes oi' constructing some ot' the devices hereinafter described will readily suggest themselves to a skillful mechanic onreading this specication. i

Figure l represents a side elevation, partly in section, of one end of the machine, showing the centering, adjusting, clamping, and boring mechanisms. Fig. 2 represents an end elevation, partly in section, ot' the parts shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 shows a side elevation` ot' the entire machine, with a pair of wheels centered, adjusted, and clamped, ready for boring. Fig. 4 represents a vertical transverse section through the centering spindle, the

boring mechanism, and its inclined traversing base detached. Fig. 5 represents anend view,

partly in section, of the traversing base and its bed-plate or main support on the line .fr .fr j

of Fig. 1. j j Y Two independent centering-beads, or supporting frames, B, are mounted upon a bedpla-te or main-shear, A, in such manner as t0 be movable vendwise thereon; lthey are also capable of being clamped securely thereon .at

here; they are, however, shown in Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings. The distance between the centering-heads is regula-ted by the devices above indicated. A tubular bearing, C, is cast with and supported at each end upon the centering-head, but some little distance above it, for a purpose hereinafter exi plained. A centering-spindle,l c, mounted in this bearing, as poppet-heads are arranged in lathes, takes into the conical center hole in the end of the driving-axle upon which the wheels to bebored are mounted and centers j,

them accurately. In addition to this axial adjustment and support of the axle upon two centers, I provide `mechanism for supporting the principal weight and securely clamping the rims ofthe `wheels while being bored, and

' to accommodate wheels ot dilierent diameters i and width of tread, Imake this mechanism adjustable. To this end I mount `upon the inner side of each centering-head an L-shaped bracket, D, the vertical part of which moves between guides d. A shoe, E, is securedto this bracket by bolts e e', and carries a nut, f, for an adjusting-screw, F. The inner one, B1, of the two clamps B1 B2, which clamps fasten the centering-heads to the shear, has a step-bearing, f1, for this adjusting-screw, the upper end of which has a suitable bearin g in the centering-head. The bracket D is raised or lowered by rotating this screw through the intervention of bevel-gears G and h, and an inclined shaft, H, mounted in proper bearings in the centering-heads and actuated' by means of a hand-wheel. This securesnthe desired ad-Y justment relatively to the diameter of the wheel. To adjust the shoe to the tread of the wheel the lower clamping-bolt e is made to extend clear through the shoe, and is provided with an enlarged head to prevent its drawing out. A screwed sleeve, i, mounted on and turning with this bolt moves a clam ping-iian ge, il, which acts upon the outer face of the rim of the wheel, while a corresponding clamp, i2, acts in a similar manner upon the inner face of the rim of the wheel, and thus securely holds it against lateral strains in either direction. By this mode of construction the tightening up of the nut on the screw-bolt e not only clamps the two sides of the wheel, but secures the shoe and bracket rigidly to the centering-heads.

ln addition to the functions herein before indicated, the centering-heads support the boring mechanism, to adapt them to which duty slides J are cast thereon. For a purpose hereinafter indicated, the surfaces of these slides are arranged symmetrically on each side of the axis ot' the ce11teringspindle,with their planes inclined to the bed A at an angle of forty-tive degrees, the apex of the two angles being a short distance below the tubular bearing C, hereinbefore mentioned, so as to leave a space between the lower part of this bea-rin g and the upper part ofthe slides J. A bracket, L, moves endwise in this bed-plate, and the top of this bracket is horizontal and serves as a base-plate, upon which the boring mech` anism rests. A tongue, Z, keeps the boring mechanism accurately adjusted in its proper relation to the centering-spindle, while bolts m hold it securely in position.

The parts are made to it accurately, and are interchangeable from one side of the spindle to the other. Whichever position is occupied, the axis of the boring-tool remains parallel with that of the centering-spindles. The boring-tool may be adjusted nearer to or further from the spindle to suit cranks of different lengths; and as the adjustment is e'ected by moving the bracket L on its inclined bed by means of an adjusting-screw, o, and nut p, the axes of the two boring-tools always form au angle of ninety degrees with the center of the wheels to be operated upon, it being understood that the two tools always occupy opposite sides of their respective centering-heads.

Either rightor left hand leading-cranks may.

thus be bored, at pleasure, with theirproper relative positions always accurately preserved. Owing to the construction of the tubular bearin g G or spindle-support with a space between it and the inclined slides J, the boring mechanism may slide under it to some extent when placed on either incline, and thus enable a crank-pin hole to be bored closer to the driving-axle than could otherwise be done. When adj usted to bore a given length of crank, which may conveniently be done with accuracy by means of a scale marked on the inclined slides, the bracket is securely fastened by means of a clamp, Hand bolts r', Fig. 5. The beveled edge ot' the underside of the shear s, in combination with the projections s1 s2 on the clamp r and bracket, respectively, always draws the bracket laterally to its true position relatively to the other parts of the machine, as in the clamping devices shown in my patent of l1869, hereinbeiorereferred to.

I deem it unnecessary here to describe the boring mechanism, as it constitutes no part of the subjectmatter herein claimed, and may be of any of the usual well-known forms of construction.

The operation of the machine will readily be understood from the foregoing description,

and need not therefore be further specified.

I am aware that among the quartering-machines heretofore invented, one described in is described or shown in saidfEnglish LettersY Patent; but my improvements distinguish my machine from this as from all others of which I have any knowledge in several important particulars, among the principal of which I may specify the following: To effect a change of the boring-bar fromv one diagonal disposition to the other it is transferred bodily, and without any other change, from one baseplate to the others; and this is rendered practicable by the fact that I make my base-plate horizontal instead of inclined. In my machine the boring is from the outside, and the wheels are centered by a spindle taking into the center of the axle. This disposition enables me to make the centering-spindle and its support much smaller than the driving-axle, so that I can bore a hole in the wheel much nearer its centerthan would be possible if the boring ap` paratus was placed between the wheels. I provide supports for holding the wheels while they are being bored, so that I can use the centering-spindles for 4centerin g only, thereby diminishing their size and increasing therange of the machine, while the wheels are secured in place by an independent device, so that I can bore crank-pins for short-stroke engines, such as are used on narrow-gage railroads-a class of work which Reids machine could not do.

- I claim as my invention-d 1. In a Wheel-quartering machine, the combination of a centering-head having inclined slides, a horizontal base-plate bracket movable uponsaid slides, and boring mechanism mounted upon said bracket, the bracket being arranged, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, so as to permit the adjustment of the boring mechanism to bore the crank-pin holes in the drivin g-Wheels at different distances from their centers, and with either crank leading.

2. In a wheel-qimrtering machine, the combination of a centering-head, a bracket baseplate movable thereupon, boring,` mechanism mounted upon said bracket, and a centeringspindle mounted in a tubular support on the frame, under which spindle-support the bracket base-plate slides, substantially as set forth.

3. In a wheel-quartering machine, the combination of sliding heads, centeringspindles for accurately centeringthe wheels to be bored, and adjustable clamping-supports to sustain and hold the rims of the wheels while being bored, substantially as set forth.

4. In a wheel-quartering machine, the combination of centering-heads having` symmetrical sides, spindle-supports mounted in the heads, and interchangeable boring mechanism, substantially as set forth, to adapt the machine to the boring of either right or left hand leading-cranks.

5. In a Wheel-quartering machine, the combination of the vertically-adjustable supporting-bracket D, flanges for clamping the inner and outer faces of the rim of the wheel, and the clamping bolt and uut, by which all the parts are securely clamped upon the centering head and wheel, substantially as set forth.

WM. SELLERS. Witnesses:

WM. E. MoRGAN, WM. S. LYNN. 

